


Looking After You

by Dairi



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Clingy Oliver, Established Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Oliver
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2016-03-03
Packaged: 2018-04-27 07:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5039074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dairi/pseuds/Dairi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Felicity falls ill, Oliver does not agree with her descion making processes. Because Oliver Queen never gets the flu. Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing, this was just a sort of adorable idea I had one day and have finally gotten around to finishing it. Hipe I didn't drag it out too long, wasn't entirely sure wherw to end it heh. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Still half asleep and mostly on his stomach, Oliver Queen stretched out his left arm across the bed, entirely expecting there to be a petite blond to draw in closer - his wife, of six months now, which still drew a dopy smile to his lips. His smile froze as his arm only encountered cold, empty sheets. There was no petite blonde wife lying beside him. This was not right. Eyes snapping open, he lifted his head and called out, voice still rough from sleep,

"'Licity?" 

He held very still and strained his ears, but heard nothing. Placing his palm flat against the sheets, he shook off the remaining threads of sleep still pulling at him and started to get up, his mind racing with a thousand different scenarios as to why she would be missing from their bed long enough for the sheets to grow cold and not a sound to be heard. None of those scenarios were terribly good, either. Clad only in a pair of sweatpants, Oliver first padded over to the en suite even though the door was cracked open and it was dark. 

"Felicity," Oliver spoke her name as he opened the door wider, but there was no response and it quickly became clear there was no one in the bathroom. 

His mind had the bad habit of automatically jumping to the worst conclusions and he couldn't stop it now. She had seemed fine last night, but what if something had occured to her in the night and she'd left? Or what if an enemy had taken her right out from under him?

No. She would've fought, and he would've certainly awoken. Whatever happened, it was voluntary. Oliver stood and clenched his fist for a moment, then relaxed as he considered...maybe she'd gone to get a drink or late night snack and had fallen asleep in the living room. It'd never happened before, but it was a reasonable thought. Quickly, he turned and headed downstairs, stopping at the end of the couch and letting out a huff through his nose. She was not on the couch, and he could see from here she wasn't in the kitchen.

He was really starting to get worried now, because this had never happened before, and where the heck is she?!

"Felicity? Where are you?" He called out slowly, just short of yelling because the silent night air carried his words well enough. He stood stock still and listened, listening for any... 

A sudden, soft knock sounded from the guest bedroom, followed quickly by a second, just as soft. Oliver pivoted on his heel and was soon pushing the door open, his body coiled and ready to spring in the event they were under attack. Because why would she choose to knock rather than simply say, 'in here'? If it even was her knocking; unless she'd been tied up somehow and gagged or something, or-- 

All the fight and anxiousness melted out of him, however, upon seeing Felicity sitting on the floor, hands and arms free (no restraints anywhere, so why'd she not spoken?), knees drawn up to her chest, back resting against the side of the bed. The knuckles of her left hand were still resting against the wooden nightstand she'd knocked against, an electronic thermometer that he recognized from their medicine cabinet dangling from her right hand. She had her head angled down and away from him. He was on his knees next to her in a second.

"Felicity? What's wrong?" He asked softly, taking her hands in his. She moaned and tried to turn away from him, though she did offer up the thermometer for his inspection. Brows drawing together in confusion, he took it and turned it on so it would show the last recorded temperature. 101.2. Ouch. Perhaps she didn't want to talk overly much if it was hurting her to do so; she had to be in some kind of pain for a temperature like that. He grimaced and looked up at her in sympathy, but still looked confused. If she was indeed feeling so horrible, why had she ventured all the way down here to do..what, exactly?

"Felicity. This doesn't explain what you're doing in the guest bedroom." He whispered, leaning closer. It looked for all the world as if she was trying to scoot back, away from him. His frown deepened; what was wrong with her? She usually sought him out when she wasn't feeling well, not tried to hide. If he was honest, her scooting back like that had hurt a little bit. She scrunched up her nose and finally looked at him, her expression indignant. 

"I'm sick." She said, as if that explained it all. It really didn't. Though her sick, stuffy nosed voice was kinda cute.

"And?" Oliver inquired, raising an eyebrow. Felicity huffed in frustration and finally explained herself.

"And vigilantes don't get sick days, so go, before you catch it!" She sniffled, waving her hands at him and when he didn't move, she gave his knee a nudge. Her answer and actions actually surprised a laugh from him, causing her to pause and stare at him as if he'd lost his mind. 

"I'm not afriad of some germs, Felicity. Now come back to bed, and I'll wet a washcloth for you." He said, holding out his hand to help her up as he stood. She remained where she was, unmoving and just staring up at him with her mouth slightly open.

"No, you don't get it - not just 'some' germs, but with this sudden of an onset it's probably the flu, and you really can't afford to get that...should prob'ly go to the Diggle's for a few days..." she muttered, grimacing as she shifted and held her stomach. Oliver blinked at her.

"I must not have heard correctly, because for a moment there I really thought I heard my wife suggest I should go stay at another couple's house while she is ill instead of staying here and looking after her." Oliver deadpanned, holding her gaze and hoping she could read in his eyes how exactly that plan was Never Going To Happen. He paused, then added, "Besides, I'm probably already infected, so wouldn't that run the risk of me spreading it to them?" He questioned her logic with another raised eyebrow.

Felicity sniffled and then conceded. "You're right, you should stay here." Oliver was about to open his mouth and make a quip about being glad his wife was letting him stay in their home, when she opened her mouth again. "But we should stay in separate rooms. You can't get sick." Felicity stated, crossing her arms over her stomach with a very detirmined expression set in her face and eyes. Oliver sighed and dropped down next to her again.

"How am I supposed to take care of you if we're in separate rooms?" Oliver asked, reaching out a hand to brush back some blonde tresses that had fallen over her face. He'd be darned if he didn't actually growl in annoyance when she shrunk away from him yet again.

"You ca--"

Ok, he'd had enough of this. 

Oliver took hold of her by the shoulders so she couldn't escape and leaned forward to kiss her soundly on the lips. She had let out a little squeak as he descended but otherwise her struggles were quite half-hearted. Leaning back only about an inch, he grinned down at her.

"There. Now, in case that wasn't clear enough, I've already got," he stressed this word as he held her gaze captive with his own, "your germs. So, please, let me take care of you?" Felicity frowned up at him.

"I could've had sick on my face and you still kissed me like that? Oliver, that could've been very nasty." She whispered, entirely ignoring his question but at least she wasn't trying to squirm away anymore. He simply lowered his head a fraction and raised both eyebrows as he continued to stare at her. He saw in her fever-glazed eyes the exact moment she finally resigned to allowing him in, and outwardly she let out a sigh and dropped her head to his chest.

"I'm so glad, really wasn't looking forward to being alone...still don't want you getting sick..." Felicity murmured, closing her eyes. Then she started to poke at his chest repeatedly as she mumbled, "So you'd better promise to take good care of yerself, mister...or I'll sic Thea on you." Oliver sighed but had a small smile tugging at his lips as he grabbed her hand away from his chest and then lifted her into his arms, carrying her bridal style.

"I'll consider myself warned." Oliver murmured as he carried her out of the room. Felicity let out a groan and turned more into his chest, her stomach rolling and her head pounding at the sudden movements. She was glad he was here, though, despite all her stubborn resistance. And he well knew this too. As he headed back out to the living room in order to head back up to their room, she suddenly stopped him by gently slapping at his chest.

"Oliver...Oliver, I'm..." before she knew it there was a large plastic tuber ware container being held in front of her, and then she was grabbing it and emptying her stomach contents into it. It was several minutes later, when she finished, that she began to realize Oliver was still right behind her - if fact, she was kneeling between his legs, facing away from him, while he had one arm around her chest and collarbone to keep her upright, and the other was holding back her hair. Even after she'd tried to push him away so many times in the past half hour or however long it'd been, he was still right there when she needed him. How she loved this man. She let out a small cry as she turned and curled herself into him. He set the container on the floor and swept her back up into his arms as carried her back to their room.

She wasn't aware of much until she felt the cool relief of a wet cloth being pressed to her forehead. Felicity let out a sigh and opened her eyes to see Oliver hovering above her. Presumably, it was their bed she was now laid out on. He is smiling when he reaches out to cup her cheek in one hand.

"I'll be right back, just gonna go take care of a couple things downstairs." He spoke softly as his thumb glided over the skin directly below her eye. As he started to withdraw, she reached out to quickly grab onto his wrist. He looked down at her with a raised brow, lips pressed tightly together, entirely expecting another fight. 

"May have," she started very softly, wrinkling her nose up in the most adorable of ways, her expression combined with her softly spoken words making him bite down on his lip in order to prevent a laugh from escaping, "...made a bit of a mess, in...the guest bath." Oliver smiled at this, upper teeth flashing as he was still biting down on his bottom lip. He let out a very small laugh and then leaned down to press his lips to her forehead, just under the wet cloth.

"I'll take care of it," he whispered against her skin, then leaned back to look her in the eyes as he continued, "Just rest, now." His thumb gave one last swipe over her cheekbone and then he was standing up, but she wouldn't let go of his wrist. He raised his eyes to meet hers, blue on blue. He found her staring up at him with a watery smile.

"Thank you." She said, ever so softly, and then trailed her fingers down from his wrist to the tips of his fingers until they were no longer touching. And then Oliver sat back down next to her on the bedside. Using one arm to brace himself, he leaned down to kiss the upper part of her nose, just hovering for a moment, and then caught her eye once more as he said,

"No need to thank me. All you need to do, is get to feeling better." He told her, putting emphasis on the last part of the second sentence as he kissed her high on the cheek and then finally backed away. Felicity smiled and closed her eyes, and when he was sure she was actually resting, he left the room. 

Some unknown time later, Felicity woke up to a slightly eased throbbing in her head as her eyes opened and she met with the sight of the cleaned plastic container sitting next to her glasses on the nightstand, only just being able to make out the blurry lines into shapes from here. And then she registered the fact of a warm arm wrapped around her, and the hand of that arm was currently playing with the ends of her hair. Her head was pillowed on his shoulder, she began to realize. Felicity leaned her head back and met his eyes over the side of his book. 

"You didn't have to stay," Felicity murmured, clearing her throat. "I'm sure there are more interesting things going on." Oliver lowered the book he was holding with his other hand and stared at her, the hand in her hair temporarily pausing.

"I told them emergencies only." Oliver whispered, twisting over her a bit to plant another kiss on her forehead. 

"Nice t'know you've still got some sense." Felicity murmured, shifting so she could snuggle deeper into his chest. Which only served to cause a bolt of pain through her skull. Which was kinda worth it when Oliver silently tightened his hold on her at her low moan. "If you get sick, don't blame me." She muttered, then shifted some more to try and get comfortable.

Which only lasted for all of about two minutes, because really? Her man was a furnace, which she usually appreciated, but not at times like now when her own body was attempting the whole burn-you-from-the-inside thing. She kicked off the covers to see if that would work, and though the cool air felt good for about a second, her body was still far too close to his. Which was something she never, ever, ever thought she would ever say. Sighing, she unwound his arm and moved back a little but did not let go of his arm. He looked over at her with a raised brow, and she wondered how much reading he was actually getting done.

"Too warm." She commented, blinking up at him as she squeezed his arm. The too warm thing is probably what had woken her to begin with, and she began to wonder whether or not she'd been onto something in trying to kick him out. But for those moments when she got too cold, he'd sure be nice to snuggle up against. Oliver flashed her a smile as he moved his hand to take both of hers in his.

"You want to try and drink something? I made some chicken soup, too, while you were resting. I can heat up some of it whenever you think your stomach can handle that." Oliver told her, keeping his voice soft. 

"Drink?" Felicity requested after a moment, smiling shyly. She really didn't think her stomach could handle anything substantial-ish at the moment, so drink it was. Smiling in return, Oliver nodded, squeezed her hands once then started to withdraw from the bed. 

He took his time traveling from their room to the kitchen, because uh...well it was afternoon now, and after really not having done much of anything all day, he was far too tired. His body was feeling unusually achy and....of course, as always, Felicity had been right. He was more than likely coming down with something. Grabbing two lemonlime sodas and a straw for each, he headed back up the stairs, thankful he'd made enough soup to last a couple days. Dig and the others would have to take care of Star City for a few days, but he knew that they were more than capable.


	2. Never Too Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Felicity is pretty much out of the woods, Oliver is coming down with something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was helped inspired by Chapter 24 of Sara2117's 'We Can Be Immortal' - if you haven't read any of that I suggest you go check it out, some wonderfully carried out & awesome prompts there.

Felicity had gotten sick early Monday morning, because of course it had to be a Monday with her and not, y'know, like a weekend. Much less amusing was the fact that her fever had spiked Monday night and she had been completely out of it for the majority of Tuesday. Oliver had been just about to take her to Starling General - because over 12 hours without being able to keep down liquids was nothing to sneeze at - when late Tuesday afternoon her fever broke. They still weren't out of the woods yet but at least, with her being able to keep down those spoonfuls of water, they could both breathe easier.

It was now Wednesday morning and she was doing a lot better. Oliver had to go into the office today, his duties as Mayor could no longer be put off, but before he left he saw to it that she had everything she'd need at her fingertips. Which basically meant he'd brought her into the living room and set her up on the couch with a blanket and pillow, drinks and snacks (only stuff that'd be easy on her tummy) and her phone and tablet all within easy reach. Only then did he leave.

She'd dozed while watching Netflix and was even able to safely eat and drink some, her stomach feeling much more cooperative today. But she wasn't going to push it with anything more. Felicity smiled to herself as she heard her phone go off for the 3rd time since he'd left - that would make three texts within the three hours he'd been gone. This was by no means a complaint, however, because there were far worse things than texting your husband who claimed to be deathly bored with whatever Mayoral duties he was currently taking care of.

She secretly believed the frequency of his communications had less to do with boredom and more to do with the fears he had of her either falling deathly ill all of a sudden or, perhaps more likely and how sad was this, being attacked by a random bad guy. 

She'd lost count of the text communications by the time he finally arrived home, around four in the afternoon. He woke her with a kiss to the forehead and a quiet question regarding if she was up for more soup. 

"Only if you eat with me," she'd answered, knowing her husband well enouh that he'd likely skipped out on lunch. He smiled slightly and nodded.

"I'll go heat some up." Oliver responded, standing up and heading to the kitchen. She sat up and scooted all her things over to one side of the couch, so that when he came back with two bowls, probably all that was left of his home made soup and hers was suspiciously more full than his but she didn't call him on it, they were able to sit side by side, quietly eating while watching whatever came up next on her Netflix que. When she got up to put her bowl and drinks and what had been left of her snacks away in the kitchen, his eyes tracked her movements carefully. Which she found somewhat surprising because he looked really, really tired after his day out. So she decided some rest for the both of them was in order. Shuffling back to the living room to notice his eyes were still on her, bowl still in his hands too, she gave a small pout then extended grabby hands towards him.

"Bed?" She asked, and his response was a slow smile and to quickly set his now empty bowl on the coffee table. "To sleep." She felt the need to tack on quickly, lowering her arms as his smile grew. 

"Of course." Was his quiet response, then he stood and switched off the TV and all but carried her up the stairs to their bedroom. Felicity was already in her pjs but after Oliver changed, then they did actually sleep. Until about ten o'clock that night. Felicity was awakened because, well, it felt like she was in a furnace. She was reminded of the time her mother had insisted they needed more exercise and had drug her along on that 'nature walk' in the Vegas dessert. They'd both stayed indoors as much as possible the following 2 weeks, because sweet, sweet air conditioning. Anyway, back to the present.

This heat was much more clingy, and smelled strangely like her husband. Felicity opened her eyes and found out that, indeed, Oliver had wrapped himself completely around her. To the point of near smothering, if he leaned anymore her way he'd be completely on top of her. Which was interesting because she was on her side. More to the point, his skin was damp and he was feeling far too unnaturally warm. Felicity nudged him, because there was no way she'd be getting out from under him without his cooperation. There was no response, so she tried again.

"Oliver?" She called, getting a hand free to push on his shoulder, too. "I think you're coming down with what I had - you feel like you've got a fever, but I need to get the thermometer to be sure." She spoke quietly, but Oliver just moaned in denial and then buried his head deeper into the crook of her neck, tightening his arms around her torso as well as the leg she now registered he had wrapped around hers. No wonder it felt like a furance in here, he was attached to her whole person like a limpet.

"Oliver. You need to let me go."

Wrong choice of wording, apparently, because that made him tense and tighten his hold even more with a mumbled, "Never gonna 'appen." Felicity frowned down at him.

"I meant literally not figuratively, I just need to get up for a moment." Felicity tried again, tapping on his arm. He didn't budge.

"Oliver," she sighed in exasperation. "Look, you can watch me the whole time. All I'm gonna do is go into the bathroom to get the thermometer, then return here to bed. Ok? It really does need to happen."

Finally, Oliver peeked one eye open and watched her for a moment, before slowly releasing her with an inward (or so he thought) grumble. Felicity smiled and patted him on the cheek, saying, "There, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" Then quickly slipped away before he could retaliate. He frowned but did keep eys on her, turning on his side to watch her enter their bathroom. Sleep was pulling at him but he didn't want to rest until she was next to him, in his arms. He even breathed a little easier when she came back to sit next to him, not that he particularly noticed or thought about it. It just was what it was - since they'd become an item, he'd never been able to rest real easy unless she was there. Nothing wrong with that, he'd just never been sick like this before. With something, y'know, normal.

"Open up," Felicity instructed, running her other hand along his brow. He complied, his blue eyes never leaving hers. 101.4, higher than hers had been. "You never do anything by halves, do you?" Felicity mumbled under her breath, shifting to stand and wash the thermometer off when she felt a tug at her hip. Hazy blue eyes were still staring up at her, and apparently he didn't want her to get up again. The needy man. Felicity smiled again and squeezed his wrist. "Right back." She hurried to do what she needed, then grabbed her phone and crawled in beside him once more. 

One thing she had learned about her husband was that when he wasn't feeling well, he was particularly clingy. And they thought the woman was typically the clingy one? Ha. Sure, she liked to snuggle, but she had observed that he wouldn't rest well unless he could feel her next to him. She had no complaints because, if she were honest, she pretty much felt the same. She felt incredibly secure when wrapped up in his arms. Moments like this, however, when he was truly feeling quite poor, brought his clingy tendencies to all new heights. She was more than willing, though, to sacrifice her morning of freedom if it meant Oliver could get some much needed healing sleep. Hopefully healing. 

She could never be idle long though without something to do, which was why she'd grabbed her phone and had her tablet within reach again. As Oliver wrapped his arms around her and pressed his head to her shoulder, she suddenly remembered a warning she'd given him, and decided there was a number she needed to call. Oliver wouldn't be too pleased but from the sound and look of things, he was already asleep anyway.

~*~

When Oliver returned to the land of the living, he could tell that something was off. Someone was in the room, but it wasn't the someone he was expecting, or wanting. He opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of his sister Thea sitting in a chair beside the bed. 

"'Bout time you woke up." She said, then smiled and asked, "'Never get sick', huh Ollie? Well how'd that work out for you?" She questioned, tilting her head. "This is why people take vitamins, in particular that one that comes from oranges and, y'know, helps boost your immune system. Would've been smart for you to take some of that."

Oliver just blinked at her, not much of her rant registering in his foggy brain. "Never needed...boost before," he grumbled, then coughed and shifted onto his side, sitting up. "Where's 'Licity?" He questioned, hating the pleading tone even he could hear in his voice but not caring to do anything about it. He was anxious and wanted eyes on her. Thea's expression softened.

"She's downstairs, calling in a skpye meeting with the big wigs at Palmer Tech." When Oliver made to get up, Thea was immediately there to push him back down. "Whoa, whoa, just where do you think you're going?" Because there was no way Felicity would be ok with her sick, shirtless husband showing up in the background of a skype video call.

"Thea, you should be down there t'make sure she's ok, not here watching me." Oliver fumed, trying to get up again. Thea resorted to whacking him on the shoulder which surprisingly did send him sprawling just a little and he had to take a moment to catch his breath. Now, who was the one she had to watch?

"She is completely fine, Ollie. In no danger at all. Besides, Dig is down there with her." Thea fibbed a bit, seeing that her brother was not going to be easily pacified. The knowledge of John there to watch over his wife did seem to ease Oliver a bit. Thea was not about to add the details of that, well, John wasn't actually in the apartment yet and was in fact on his way with some store bought soup, but the important thing was that, yes, Dig was somewhat in the vicinity and yes, Felicity was safe.

"Now, get some more rest - unless you wanna try to eat or drink?" Thea asked, standing next to her brother and noting how pale he looked. Oliver shook his head.

"No, I'll just...wait for her." Oliver murmured, sliding up some and resting his head against the headboard. Thea huffed. Felicity had indicated he might be difficult, and had hoped he wouldn't wake before she returned (it had been difficult enough for her to slip out of bed without waking him) but he now had and Thea really hoped her call would end soon because she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep him here without resorting to actual bodily harm. 

Thea heard the blonde's footfalls on the stairs no doubt exactly when her brother did, for his eyes sprung open and he grit his teeth as he scooted forward a little and lay flat again, pretending to be asleep. Thea snorted. 

"Finally done, hopefully won't have to do that again for another few days -Jerry and Curtis took pretty good care of things while I was out but, I know they were all staring at with their judgy looks. It's like they just knew I had on pajama bottoms." Felicity declared upon entry, wrinkling up her nose.

"Never knew people actually did that," Thea commented, as Oliver cracked an eye open to look, and indeed Felicity had on a nice red dress shirt, her hair done up accordingly, and Dr Who pj pants. He smiled, this was his wife in a nut shell.

"Anyway, Mr Caveman woke up about thirty minutes ago and refused to go back to sleep. I'll be downstairs to let Dig in, you...deal with him." Thea hooked her thumb over her shoulder at her brother, then quickly escaped before Oliver could call her on her fib. 

"But - I thought...she said Dig was with you." Oliver attempted to point out, his facial expression scrunched up with confusion. Felicity paused in her search for an appropriate night shirt and turned to look at him. She opened her mouth, paused again, then finally said,

"Oh. Uh, he was," over the phone, she didn't add aloud. "But then I asked him to go get some more soup for us, and a few other things. He's out doing that now." She told him, ending in a confident nod. Oliver stared at her, frowning, but then realized she was ok and let it go for now. He watched as she changed and let her hair down, grabbed her tablet then slid in next to him again. Only this time she propped him up and slid back to the headboard, having him almost in her lap. 

"'M sorry, 'know I'm clingy.." Oliver sighed into her stomach, wrapping an arm around her upper legs. 

"I know," Felicity said, running her fingers through his hair, "and I love you." She paused as Oliver didn't seem to relax at all. "Really not a problem, my love. You know I can get clingy too, and those awkward babbles? Yeah most people run in fear." Felicity observed aloud, mostly to herself, but it did cause a huff of laughter from her husband so it was worth it.

"Love yer akward babbles." She heard him mumble, and felt his arm tighten a little.

"See? Made for each other." She smiled and continued to run her fingers along his scalp, even long after he fell into a deep slumber. When Dig arrived he and Thea quietly informed her that the fridge was fully restocked, then they slipped away to leave them in peace with a reminder to call if they needed anything else. Felicity assured them she would, but to herself, she looked down and added that she had everything she needed, right here.


	3. Without You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity leaves town for a round of meetings in nearby cities, Oliver doesn't handle it well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Here's another one. Small. Sappy. Hope you enjoy. ;)
> 
> I am planning on a fourth, won't really follow this one exactly probably, and don't know when and it may be a while, but at some point hopefully.

She had been gone for three days.

Not even a full seventy-two hours, actually.

And both Thea and Laurel had called her, concerned about the health and well-being of one bull headed man. 

It wasn't as if they'd had a fight before her going or anything, either - and she'd talked to him on the phone only yesterday! But if there was one thing Oliver was good at, it was hiding how he felt.

The fool man hadn't slept a wink since before she'd left, and it was beginning to show. Laurel had told her he'd taken several hits - including a knife wound to the arm - and still insisted on taking the overnight patrol. So. Given that he'd not told her any of this, she did not call to confront him over it. She was mostly done with the meetings she'd had to attend - there would be a few she'd need to reschedule, but that was no problem - so instead of waiting for her train out tomorrow afternoon, she'd gotten a late train tonight.

This was the man she loved, the man she'd officially declared to spend the rest of her life with over a year and half ago...when he needed her, she would be here. There was no choice to make.

She'd come straight to their basement operations, waiting in the Arrow Cave for him to return. She'd bid Digg, who had been working the comms and was under strict instructions to not alert Oliver to her presence, goodnight once he reported Oliver was on his way back. Now she was alone, waiting.

Felicity didn't have to wait long before the roar of his motorcycle could be heard pulling into their little underground garage. She had a good view of the garage from where she was seated, and it hurt her heart to see how much trouble he was indeed having. After switching the engine off and stepping down, it had taken him a total of three attempts to get the kick-stand into proper place. Had three days without her really done this to him? Surely there was something else going on here...standing and slowly approaching, she was detirmined to find out. 

It spoke to his level of exhaustion that he did not immediately notice her presence; she stood there for a few minutes, watching quietly as he messed with something at the back of the bike. All of a sudden his head came up, mask and hood still in place, looked at her and...he froze. It really didn't look like he was even breathing. Knowing he would believe her an illusion, she smiled slightly and stepped forward.

"Felicity?" He finally croaked out, his breath resuming as his eyes kept track of her foreward progression. 

"I'm here," she whispered, close enough now to reach her hand out and gently touch his face, sliding her fingertips just below the eye mask before settling her palm over his cheek. His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned into her touch. Felicity sighed sadly, running her thumb over his stubble. 

"Why didn't you tell me you were having trouble?" She quietly admonished him, her other hand rising up to push his hood back so his head was fully exposed. This seemed to wake him up, as his eyes snapped open and he drew in a sharp breath as he took a small step back, effectively breaking their connection, if only for a moment.

"You're -- You're really here? I'm not..." he trailed off, wide blue eyes fixed on her own. She smiled sadly at him, moving forward to reach up and ease his mask off, dropping it over one of the handlebars of the motorcycle right behind them. 

"I heard that you were in need of a little assistance, so, I got an earlier train in." She'd explained as she'd worked, continuing with his gloves and wrist guards. His breath hitched at her words, and when her hands were empty again, he was suddenly pulling her to him in a crushing embrace. She had intended to see to the wound on his arm and that it was being looked after properly, but being surrounded as she was by him, his presnece that she had craved are sorely missed these last three days, she promptly forgot all about it.

"Not 'little assistance,'" he mumbled, his words slightly muffled by her hair as he buried his nose in it, "Just you...only you." She smiled demurely and wrapped her arms around him in turn, a content sigh escaping her as she closed her eyes and leaned into him. They stayed like that, wrapped up in one another's embrace for several minutes. Breathing each other in.

"I...couldn't sleep with out you there," he began slowly, his voice so quiet she had to strain her ears a little to hear, "and when I tried, I...I had nightmares that left me even more exhausted than before I'd tried to sleep." Oliver confessed, and she could feel his body quivering just a little with his words. Felicity knew without a doubt what his nightmares mostly consisted of, and gave an inward shudder herself. She wished to look into his face just then, reassure him that she was alive, everything was fine, but he clung to her so tightly that she couldn't even move. So she resorted to rubbing soothing circles on his back along with quiet, verbal reassurances. At length, he gave a shaky inhale and leaned back only far enough the rest his forehead against hers.

"I missed you," he spoke quietly, with the air of a shy child. It made her smile, which widened when he tilted his head and leaned down for a chaste, sweet kiss. 

"Missed you more," Felicity responded, reaching up for a slightly longer brush of lips. Oliver let out a pitiful sound somewhere halfway between a groan and a growl, and leaned down to whisper over her lips,

"Impossible." He declared, sealing his words with a kiss that spoke much more eloquently to the deep emotions stirring within him, brewing since the moment she'd declared her trip, and now she was back with him, even earlier than expected...well, it was time to show her how she was missed.

Later on, Felicity would make plans for, in the event that she could not take her husband with her on a business trip away, they would have a secure channel to talk to each other and see one another through it as they fell asleep. Or at least as she did, because Oliver confessed that not having the option of watching over her as she slept, peaceful and breathing, well it never sat well with him and was a possible contributer to his nightmares. She didn't complain to the fact that she'd had to leave her tablet plugged in all night on thoses nights, because, next best thing to waking up wrapped in the arms of the man himself, was waking up to see the live image of his smile and the look of love in his eyes. Yes, the bed was much colder without him, but that did help a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....ok so that last part kind of got tacked on in my brain all of a sudden, and I've no idea what happened. O.o ...I make Oliver out as kind of desperate in a lot of these, don't I? Ahem. Poor guy...haha...anyway, hope you enjoyed! :D


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